Stage Fright!

     THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29TH.

              STAGE FRIGHT!

      55 plus years in the media! Radio,
 Television, and most recently a movie!
 Can you envision me with "Stage Fright?"
      Well today I confess. It seems an
 appropriate day to do so. This is National
"Frankenstein Day!" And tomorrow is
"Frankenstein Friday." It was created
in 1997 by Ron MacCloskey from Westfield,
New Jersey.
      MacCloskey created the day.
      Mary Wollenstone Shelley created the
 monster in a novel she published in 1797.
 Her creature was brought to live again in
 numerous movies, most notably as
 portrayed by Boris Karloff in 1931.
       With Halloween just two days away
 you're seeing a lot of Horror movies on
 TV and Frankenstein is likely to be one
 of them.
        But back in the day when neighborhood
 movie theaters still ruled the entertainment
 world it was not uncommon to have some
 of those movies play on the big screen at
 this time of the year. And they were often
 accompanied by a stage show featuring
 actors dressed as your favorite monsters.
       Such was the case at the old Capitol
 Theater in Hazleton (my home town) on
 one Halloween eve. I may have been 11
 or 12 at the time and was surprised when
 the theater manager asked to speak with
 me. He offered me a  chance to appear
 on stage! Hamlet? Macbeth? Well,
 not exactly.
        The opportunity sounded great
 until he explained the scene. I was to
 wander on stage and look around. As
 I did so the Frankenstein monster was
 to come up behind my back and grab
 me. The idea was to have me act so
 scared that I couldn't run away!
       Problem was, after seeing the
 actor's makeup, I was so scared that I
 did run away........from the gig!!!!!!!
       Hope Broadway doesn't miss me
 too much...and that all your NEWS
 is good.